State Senator District 1 in Idaho State Senate District 1, Idaho

2026 Primary Election

• Steve Johnson — Educator in Sandpoint, ID

  Steve Johnson, a longtime Sandpoint resident and former school principal, is running as an independent for the Idaho State Senate District 1 seat in 2026. An educator, farmer, rancher, and small-scale logger, he earned both bachelor's and graduate degrees from the University of Idaho. Johnson champions "lunch bucket" issues, aiming to improve the lives of Idaho families in tangible ways by addressing cost of living and affordable housing, and has proposed a state program for first-time homebuyers. With education as his main focus, he states, "Education is an investment, not an expense." His background includes being fired as a principal in 1993 for speaking out against district policies, leading to a successful lawsuit for legal costs. He currently teaches at Lake Pend Oreille High School.

• Jim Woodward — Incumbent State Senator, District 1 in ID

  Jim Woodward is an incumbent Republican State Senator representing Idaho's District 1. A U.S. Navy veteran who served 21 years in nuclear submarine propulsion, he also owns and operates Apex Construction Services, an excavation and marine construction company. Woodward earned a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho. He previously held his Senate seat from 2018 to 2022, reclaimed it in 2024, and is now seeking re-election in the 2026 primary. His policy priorities include increasing the homeowner exemption to improve affordability, balancing the state budget, and implementing land use policies to enhance housing availability in Idaho.

• Scott Herndon — Home builder in Sandpoint, ID

  Scott Herndon, a Republican, is a home builder and a born again Christian. He is a former Idaho State Senator for District 1, having served from December 2022 to December 2024. Herndon is also a past chair of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee, a computer programmer, and a former Bonner County jail chaplain. He graduated from the Missouri Military Academy and Arizona State University. Herndon states he is running for the Idaho State Senate again because he believes local residents are not adequately represented. He is a staunch opponent of abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and has advocated for legislation to eliminate marriage licenses, seeking to codify marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.